Bill Simmons Sums Up our Offseason

"Take the half-man, he can dance for the children; kill the other one!"

For my single favorite moment of the month: Toronto going all out for Steve Nash, even giving Landry Fields a $19 million poison-pill contract in a desperate attempt to block New York's rumored Steve Nash trade … only the Lakers snared Nash and poor Toronto was stuck with Fields(Fields made just 25.6 percent of his 3s last year and had an astonishingly bad 12.0 PER.), leading to a hilarious scenario when the Raptors immediately tried to amnesty Fields's deal even as he was signing it. (Just kidding. I made that up.)

You know what the whole thing reminded me of? The Larry Sanders roast (one of the greatest TV episodes of all time7), when Artie had to book an obscure comedian named Kip Addotta to get Jerry Seinfeld at the roast, only Seinfeld canceled at the last minute, leading to Addotta droning on at the roast as Larry fake-laughed in pure misery. Eventually, he leaned over to Artie for the following exchange:

Larry: "Who the f-ck is that?"
Artie: "That's Kip Addotta."
Larry: "Who's that?"
Larry's agent: "He's the guy we had to get to get Seinfeld."
Larry: "Where's Seinfeld?"
Larry's agent: "The bastard canceled an hour ago."

Basically, Toronto's summer was the Larry Sanders roast, Steve Nash was Jerry Seinfeld, and Landry Fields was Kip Addotta. The good news for Toronto: They salvaged things (a little) by acquiring Lowry, and everyone loves last year's no. 1 pick (Jonas Valanciunas, a stud by all accounts). We don't need to get rid of basketball in Canada just yet.

Pretty much nail on the head. Let's all fake laugh in pure misery together.

"Take the half-man, he can dance for the children; kill the other one!"

For my single favorite moment of the month: Toronto going all out for Steve Nash, even giving Landry Fields a $19 million poison-pill contract in a desperate attempt to block New York's rumored Steve Nash trade … only the Lakers snared Nash and poor Toronto was stuck with Fields(Fields made just 25.6 percent of his 3s last year and had an astonishingly bad 12.0 PER.), leading to a hilarious scenario when the Raptors immediately tried to amnesty Fields's deal even as he was signing it. (Just kidding. I made that up.)

You know what the whole thing reminded me of? The Larry Sanders roast (one of the greatest TV episodes of all time7), when Artie had to book an obscure comedian named Kip Addotta to get Jerry Seinfeld at the roast, only Seinfeld canceled at the last minute, leading to Addotta droning on at the roast as Larry fake-laughed in pure misery. Eventually, he leaned over to Artie for the following exchange:

Larry: "Who the f-ck is that?"
Artie: "That's Kip Addotta."
Larry: "Who's that?"
Larry's agent: "He's the guy we had to get to get Seinfeld."
Larry: "Where's Seinfeld?"
Larry's agent: "The bastard canceled an hour ago."

Basically, Toronto's summer was the Larry Sanders roast, Steve Nash was Jerry Seinfeld, and Landry Fields was Kip Addotta. The good news for Toronto: They salvaged things (a little) by acquiring Lowry, and everyone loves last year's no. 1 pick (Jonas Valanciunas, a stud by all accounts). We don't need to get rid of basketball in Canada just yet.

Pretty much nail on the head. Let's all fake laugh in pure misery together.

Now please, for the love of god, somebody merge this thread.

hahaha this is hilarious

Any which way you sugarcoat it, Landry Fields was a pawn in the botched Steve Nash signing. And BC should come out and be honest and say that it was what it was really was. Too many was. But seriously, just say we went after Nash, used Fields to up our chances, but it still failed, and now we're stuck with Fields.

Im surprised that at the presscon, nobody dared ask Landry how it felt being the pawn. "Landry, do you know that you werent really a target acquisition, but rather was being used as a deterrent for the Knicks so they can't acquire Nash?" Yikes.

Any which way you sugarcoat it, Landry Fields was a pawn in the botched Steve Nash signing. And BC should come out and be honest and say that it was what it was really was. Too many was. But seriously, just say we went after Nash, used Fields to up our chances, but it still failed, and now we're stuck with Fields.

Im surprised that at the presscon, nobody dared ask Landry how it felt being the pawn. "Landry, do you know that you werent really a target acquisition, but rather was being used as a deterrent for the Knicks so they can't acquire Nash?" Yikes.

Yeah but he's also a solid acquisition however way you want to put. He's most definitely better than JJ, the only thing I don't like about him is his contract. Which yes, basically every raptor fan is talking about.

Any which way you sugarcoat it, Landry Fields was a pawn in the botched Steve Nash signing. And BC should come out and be honest and say that it was what it was really was. Too many was. But seriously, just say we went after Nash, used Fields to up our chances, but it still failed, and now we're stuck with Fields.

Im surprised that at the presscon, nobody dared ask Landry how it felt being the pawn. "Landry, do you know that you werent really a target acquisition, but rather was being used as a deterrent for the Knicks so they can't acquire Nash?" Yikes.

And I wasns't trying to be a jerk, just pointing out that you really should just get over the Merging habbits of the Mods on this site. Its been run a certain way for a LONG time, and I would be quite disappointed if everything changed just because one guy wouldn't stop harping about it.

As for the actual thread, Bill Simmons is a joke just looking for a laugh.
Dude wouldn't know serious journalism if it punched him in the face.

The guy runs one of the most successful sports & pop culture websites in America. He masterminded the most successful sports documentary series ever. He wrote what is widely considered the bible of basketball, which was a #1 best seller.

The guy runs one of the most successful sports & pop culture websites in America. He masterminded the most successful sports documentary series ever. He wrote what is widely considered the bible of basketball, which was a #1 best seller.

*That is just my opinion because I am sick of the constant Raptor/Toronto bashing with the relocation talk. Anyone seriously arguing moving the Raptors at this time is ignorant or just trying to create discussion/controversy/interest.

*That is just my opinion because I am sick of the constant Raptor/Toronto bashing with the relocation talk. Anyone seriously arguing moving the Raptors at this time is ignorant or just trying to create discussion/controversy/interest.

Agreed. Just another guy tryin to get ppl talking/gain popularity by bashing the vulnerable Raptors

I really like Bill Simmons (his book of basketball is a great read).. but I don't think he would ever consider himself a journalist. He's a fan of the game, and he writes about it. He writes for entertainment and will exaggerate a lot to make his point, but his points are usually right, IMO.

What I love about Simmons is that he doesn't hold back. If he thinks something was stupid he will tell you. Unlike a journalist he doesn't have to worry if an agent, player, gm/owner has a grudge against them for something he wrote. I loved his remark about Brand/Kaman and how they didn't work out in 2006 when they were much younger, and how he's unsure how that would work out in Dallas. It caused both Cuban and Kaman to react. You don't typically see that from real journalists.

When it comes to the Fields signing no one can deny that it was a bad contract. But if the goal was to get Nash, and if it worked it would have been considered a brilliant move. Nash didn't sign and we got a pretty good young player. We're not trying to win a championship next season so its not that big of a deal - however from an outsider looking in, it does seem pretty funny - especially since it doesn't happen very often. How often do you hear of one team cock-blocking another team so they can get a top-notch free agent? That's actually quite entertaining.

Also we're only on the books for Fields' average salary, which is about $6.3M a year for 3 years.. that's not Arena's money. He is very tradeable. Hell if Turk was traded I'm sure Fields could get traded as well.

If you read the entire article out on Grantland (there is a part 2 as well) you can see that Simmons makes fun of all the ridiculous signings, but will give credit where credit is due.

I really like Bill Simmons (his book of basketball is a great read).. but I don't think he would ever consider himself a journalist. He's a fan of the game, and he writes about it. He writes for entertainment and will exaggerate a lot to make his point, but his points are usually right, IMO.

What I love about Simmons is that he doesn't hold back. If he thinks something was stupid he will tell you. Unlike a journalist he doesn't have to worry if an agent, player, gm/owner has a grudge against them for something he wrote. I loved his remark about Brand/Kaman and how they didn't work out in 2006 when they were much younger, and how he's unsure how that would work out in Dallas. It caused both Cuban and Kaman to react. You don't typically see that from real journalists.

When it comes to the Fields signing no one can deny that it was a bad contract. But if the goal was to get Nash, and if it worked it would have been considered a brilliant move. Nash didn't sign and we got a pretty good young player. We're not trying to win a championship next season so its not that big of a deal - however from an outsider looking in, it does seem pretty funny - especially since it doesn't happen very often. How often do you hear of one team cock-blocking another team so they can get a top-notch free agent? That's actually quite entertaining.

Also we're only on the books for Fields' average salary, which is about $6.3M a year for 3 years.. that's not Arena's money. He is very tradeable. Hell if Turk was traded I'm sure Fields could get traded as well.

If you read the entire article out on Grantland (there is a part 2 as well) you can see that Simmons makes fun of all the ridiculous signings, but will give credit where credit is due.

Simmons is to journalism what professional wrestling is to professional sport.

The guy runs one of the most successful sports & pop culture websites in America. He masterminded the most successful sports documentary series ever. He wrote what is widely considered the bible of basketball, which was a #1 best seller.

Not to mention that the Larry Sanders show was one of the greatest sitcoms EVER! I wonder who Hank was in that scenario? Maybe Maurizio?
HHHHHHHHHHHEY NOW!

Are you saying you want a piece of me?! (had to throw my hat in because of the Seinfeld reference ).

I think in order to get our money worth on Landry Fields, his girlfriend needs to be in every home game wearing a sexy outfit and blowing kisses to the camera. It will still be better then Chris Bosh annoying ex with her aircraft carrier size forehead.

Speaking of Seinfeld, I think this gif best signify Steve Nash reaction about the Raptors offer as well as my reaction of Colangelo drafting Ross, offering a contract to Nash and signing Landry Field.

Simmons is to journalism what professional wrestling is to professional sport.

That's a bit of a stretch, isn't it?

And I would just ignore his sarcastic rants about moving the NBA out of Toronto. Nothing he says will expedite the process of the Raptors switching cities because there is no chance of it happening anytime in the near future IMO.

My impression of him is that he is hit or miss. Sometimes I like his show, and sometimes I don't. I would put him at more of the Howard Stern of the NBA (minus the nudity and swearing of course).

And I would just ignore his sarcastic rants about moving the NBA out of Toronto. Nothing he says will expedite the process of the Raptors switching cities because there is no chance of it happening anytime in the near future IMO.

My impression of him is that he is hit or miss. Sometimes I like his show, and sometimes I don't. I would put him at more of the Howard Stern of the NBA (minus the nudity and swearing of course).